Eli and Niladri talk about Asclepias (the Milkweeds). We start with some of the cool unique characteristics of species of Milkweeds - botany for non-botanists, by plant enthusiasts. We talk about many of the New England species, and Showy Milkweed that is common out West, then move on to the vast diversity of associated wildlife (yes, including Monarch Butterflies).

The second half is on human use, from the use by many Indigenous peoples throughout the US, to use by foragers, in integrated pest management (IPM) and in ecological gardening across cultures today. The Common and Showy Milkweeds that thrive on disturbance, and have accompanied human agriculture for the last millennium, actually thrive when harvested. These species are a wonder wonderful example of how our use of native species can benefit wildlife, and us, at the same time.

*hopefully worked out some kinks so that this episode should work on mobile devices across most podcast platforms at this point

** Corrections: when discussing the milkweeds of New England, I said Asclepias speciosa when I meant A. tuberosa, which is our small, orange-flowered, drought-tolerant species often referred to as Butterfly Milkweed. I also said that plants from big box stores are often treated with systemic herbicides; I meant systemic pesticides.